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It’s easy to pretend you’re super-dad when you have a cast of thousands

Kate’s at home now, God’s in his heaven, the birds are chirping in the trees, and all’s right with the world. Here are my thoughts on being in sole charge of a toddler for five days:

1. To begin with, I wasn’t in sole charge of a toddler for five days. Every day, I had between two and five(!) hours of babysitting time from the grandparents. I think having at least one hour of daylight free time every day is the difference between “hey, no problem”, and dangerous mental resource depletion. And then having three hours of daylight free time? Work has proceeded so quickly on my garage that I’m almost ready to launch the rocketship through the sliding roof.

Okay, so I guess I only had one thought, which is “I had a really, really cushy time of it”, and I’m really grateful to the grandparents. Though she missed Kate a whole lot, Lydia was totally happy and relaxed; when I tried to explain to her the third or fourth time that mommy was visiting friends, she nodded and said, “yes, on a airplane.” Duh, daddy!

Hi, I found your blog in a roundabout way (retropod: nice idea, too bad about Sony though). And you have an adorable daughter!! I read your Weight loss entries (I’ve been doing a lot of reading on that subject lately). You haven’t posted anything since Jan and I was wondering how it’s going. That’s also the reason I posted here, wasn’t sure if you’d get this if you’re not posting there. While I’m not overweight, I am trying to get in shape and lose a few pounds, gain some muscle, etc.
Your last entry about not really eating anything until mid-afternoon: of course you want to eat everything in sight! So you don’t usually eat breakfast or mid-morning healthy-ish snacks? I would suggest you start, as well as trying to make lunch your biggest meal of the day (instead of dinner, when many people pig out and then do no physical activity for the rest of the evening). Unless you’re a carbs addict: I’ve just read that book and there’s a very specific way of eating if you are one (I took the quiz and I’m not). An interesting book. You could probably just take the quiz in the bookstore and if you’re not a carbs addict, well, then you don’t need to buy it! (It’s by Drs. Rachael and Richard Heller).
The way I’ve been trying to look at things is that it’s not about weight loss; it’s about trying to be healthy for the rest of my life. So I never diet. I just try to eat healthy and if I’m craving something, I eat it (I don’t deprive myself), but I eat LESS of it. So, a small icecream, a small latte (non-fat), small bag of chips, regular McDs burger (not a Big Mac, etc). Which also means you don’t buy the big sizes of chips, icecream, etc. because you rationalize that it’s more economical to buy bigger. And I don’t eat things like butter, mayo, unless I can’t avoid (food at a friend’s house, etc.) You really can get used to eating things that aren’t covered in cheese or butter, and things that are low/non-fat like dairy (though I only eat regular cheese on pizza because some things are sacred ;-), and no one needs to eat the big sizes served in any cafe or restaurant. No one. You just can’t. Not if you want to be healthy for the rest of your life.
I live in Japan, so it’s a little easier for me as the portion sizes here are smaller, even in American chains like McDs and Starbucks. But I’m sure you know this: portion sizes in the US are out of control. Don’t let them run your life. Figure out what a real serving is and stick to it.
I’m rambling and should get on with my day. Good luck with your WL goals and drop me an email if you like.
Kay, Canadian, (soon-to-be) 31